The following letter was sent to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) board members:
Exceptionalism is motivating and inspiring — not just for those who strive for it, but for those who witness it.
Everyone cheers when we read about our athletes who go on to compete in state or national competitions. Everyone celebrates our choirs’ and orchestras’ artistic achievements, like performing at Carnegie Hall. Everyone applauds our high academic achievers who go on to top universities. Everyone agrees that special educational needs should be met so that students at all levels can strive for excellence and have superb opportunities.
With this in mind, we all need to come together to protect exceptional opportunities at Malibu High School like calculus D/E. Having Calc D/E as a final goal in math lifts so many students’ sights in attempt to reach it. Having that high level to strive for motivates many students to do their best at all levels. Many may not make it, but that does not make the course a failure, as Brandon Gallagher suggests. Few students get into top tier universities — should we do away with those as well?
Malibu students who want to pursue higher math (or any other course that the school does not offer) will have to study at other venues. However, because Malibu is geographically isolated with one main access route in and out, this is logistically impossible within a school day.
Is the school board aware of the hindrances to education that Malibu students face due to this geographical isolation? Please consider putting extra funds aside to help level the playing field for students at MHS who are just as keen as Santa Monica High School (Samohi) students to reach higher in their fields. Samohi students benefit from the choice of many more courses (meaning less sacrifice due to scheduling conflicts, which is a big problem at MHS), and they can take advantage of all the free resources that Santa Monica College offers. These options are fantastic for Samohi students. MHS students deserve the same.
Jessica Isles